When has increased revenues to any government not led to MORE SPENDING?That is my plan to Balance the Budget. You put up a plan to balance the budget that has a chance of becoming law.
A 4% sales tax paid by EVERYONE EQUALLY seems fair to me. The GOP will say it hits the wealthy harder since they buy more stuff.
Worse, when has any "small" tax not exploded over time, a short amount of time? Most European countries started with a small (4%) Value Added Tax (sales tax) and now most are around 20%.